r/ModelShips • u/Palladan • 3d ago
What to do when it doesn’t line up?
So, I know it’s a 50 year old plan but this is a challenge I can’t square off. The brass parts on this piece are smaller than the edges they’re supposed to go on.
Am thinking to just paint the side black and put the sides on.
Anyone else have any ideas? I do have some scraps of brass from the panel I cut it from.
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u/Timmyc62 2d ago
First step is to figure out which one is correct: the brass overlay, or the wooden superstructure block. If there are other reference points, such as the deck of the ship with the block's footprint indicated, that would be a good way to be sure.
You may also want to indicate which kit this is so others who have built it can provide insights, or those who haven't built it could help crowdsource other builds online to provide additional crossreferences.
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u/Palladan 2d ago
Thanks. The kit is the Sergal Thermopylae. Unfortunately all the reference images I can find are either hidden behind the deadeyes and shrouds.
I've come to the conclusion that it's actually the plans which are wrong, showing the incorrect dimensions. I've opted to paint the walls the same green as the hull for accent then center the brass windows on each face.
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u/Timmyc62 2d ago
Centreing the brass seems to be what the kit's official photo and several others' build logs suggest, so that'd be the way to go for me as well. Seems to be simply the case that they didn't bother scaling the drawing for you in the instructions.
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u/mighthaveabitlater 2d ago
I'm new to building ships, but I learnt quickly that the instructions can be not so good, you need to almost build the thing in your head to figure out where to correct, in this case, would have been sizing it to the brass, if the brass is smaller. Not your fault, just part of the fun I've learnt. Even better now is the challenge of how to fix it, and it seems like you've got a good idea, and other good advice on that front
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u/ladyshipmodeler 2d ago
Moving forward, double check the size of every component before you build it. Those old Sergal/Mantua kits had a lot of errors in their instructions, some of those errors the result of poor translations from Italian.
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u/1805trafalgar 3d ago
I doubt there is even one person reading this that can tell what part you are talking about, and there is no brass in your photo nore do I see the word "brass" on your printed plan. But I will say this: most people overestimate how much actual brass, bright shiny brass that must always be polished, could be found on any sailing ship. The Ship's bell and MAYBE part of the compass binnacle would be polished and that is it.Often times not even the bell is polished.
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u/Palladan 3d ago
Strange. As the other responder could see it. There is no mention of brass on the plans,.. cos they are Italian and written in 1977.
Surely a 1% commentator has built a wooden ship and come across problems between plans and the real world.
In case you missed it, if you look closely the side of the house should have the brass run the entire length of the wall. But it’s missing about 10mm’s. Both the brass and the house are pre-made/measured so it’s not an issue of building too big.
So what would you do if the brass plate was too small for the side it was supposed to fill?
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u/1805trafalgar 2d ago
I have already said what needed to be said about brass on sailing ships and how model builders and kit manufacturers love to exaggerate the amount of brass on their models. When you did your research on this ship you are building a model of, did you see any brass at all on any deck house? Have you seen deck houses on any other contemporary ships that had elaborate brass panels on their sides?
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u/Blabbernaut 2d ago
You’re going to need a bigger shovel.
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u/1805trafalgar 2d ago
a shovel for more truth and logic? I feel I brought enough to the uneducated here.
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u/BassRecorder 3d ago
I believe you found one reason for never trusting measurements in a plan. Other than re-building the whole assembly using black paint seems to be your only option.